Dec 31, 2026 – Thus Far
It’s quite interesting getting to the last page of these devotion books after moving my page marker day after day feeling like there were so many pages ahead. Endings, large or small, really do cause most of us to pause and wonder how we finally got there. Sometimes the end of something seems so far off and perhaps even impossible, or at least difficult to believe that it would ever happen, such as the last days before a long-awaited event (end of a school year or career, a graduation, a wedding, a birth etc.)
As most of us have heard (especially when raising children), the days are long, but the years are short; and, before you know it, what was imagined and planned for is now a reality. It sometimes takes months to say and write the new year rather than the old one, and then all of a sudden it seems we are at the ball-drop countdown. I think the message here is that we should plan for the future, but live each moment with purpose and joy because time will keep ticking if we are blessed with more of it.
JA – “Your future stretches out before you all the way into eternity. I am the Companion who will never leave you, the Guide who knows every step of the way ahead…. As you prepare to step into a new year, let heaven’s Light shine upon you and brighten the path just before you.”
Streams – 1 Samuel 7:12 – “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” Cowman writes, “The words ‘thus far’ are like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. It had been ‘a long time, twenty years in all’ (v.2), but even if it had been seventy years, ‘Thus far has the Lord helped’! ….We always enjoy looking down a long road lined with beautiful trees…. In the same way you look down a beautiful road like this, why not look back on the road of the years of your life? Look at the large green limbs of God’s mercy overhead and the strong pillars of His loving-kindness and faithfulness that have brought you much joy…. Someone who comes to a certain point and writes the words ‘thus far’ realizes he has not yet come to the end of the road and that he still has some distance to travel…. So dear believer, ‘be strong and take heart’ (Ps. 27:14), and with thanksgiving and confidence lift your voice in praise, for: The Lord who ‘thus far’ has helped you will help you all your journey through.’”
Power – Joyce writes, “If you are walking in the flesh, it’s because you put your mind on fleshly things. If you’re walking in the Spirit, it’s because you put your mind on spiritual things…. Imagine a truck filled with concrete…. The concrete cannot take any form unless a mold is created. Your thoughts are like the mold. Your thoughts create a shape for God to pour His power into, to do something with your life. If you want a powerful life, choose to keep your mind on things that agree with God’s will so He can work with you toward your goals.”
Utmost – Chambers writes, “At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise from remembering the yesterdays…. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them in order to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual culture for the future. God reminds us of the past lest we get into a shallow security of the present…. As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, unremembering delight, nor with the flight of impulsive thoughtlessness, but with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us.”
JC – “As this year draws to a close, receive My Peace. This is still your deepest need, and I, your Prince of Peace, long to pour Myself into your neediness…. Whisper My Name in loving tenderness. My Peace, which lives continually in your spirit, will gradually work its way through your entire being.”
